Wednesday 21st August 2019

The markets retreated from yesterday’s optimism, with shares and bond yields falling, the US dollar losing against the Yen and gold back on the rise. Phil Dobbie asks NAB’s David de Garis why this reversal of fortune, and how come the Aussie dollar managed to ride the storm. Part of the downturn today relates to the disastrous state of Italian politics, with the Prime Minister resigning and no clear idea of who will control government. The pound suffered a fall as Boris Johnson hit a logjam with the EU, but recovered on more conciliatory words from the German Chancellor. Meanwhile, it’s the FOMC minutes that will be the focus of the next 24 hours.